Finding a Physics Book with Comprehensive Explanation for High Schoolers

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around finding suitable physics textbooks for high school students who seek more comprehensive explanations than those provided by their current school materials. Participants share their experiences and recommendations for books that cover fundamental concepts such as vectors, momentum, impulse, distance, velocity, and acceleration.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses dissatisfaction with their school's physics book, which primarily presents example problems without sufficient explanations.
  • Another participant mentions planning to order a specific book for problem-solving while using their school's book for basic explanations, indicating a desire for additional resources.
  • A recommendation is made for "Basic Physics: A Self-Teaching Guide" by Karl F. Kuhn, noted for being suitable for algebra-based physics.
  • Another suggestion includes "Physics for Scientists and Engineers" 6th edition, which is described as a good resource with two volumes.
  • One participant lists several books they are considering to supplement their knowledge, expressing concerns about the self-teaching guide's approach to learning formulas without derivation.
  • Questions are raised about the effectiveness of the Schaum's series as a resource for learning physics.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the need for more comprehensive physics resources, but there are differing opinions on the effectiveness of specific books, particularly the self-teaching guide, and whether certain recommended books are suitable for their needs.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying levels of satisfaction with their current textbooks and highlight the importance of detailed explanations in learning physics concepts. There is also a focus on algebra-based physics, which may influence the appropriateness of certain recommendations.

Who May Find This Useful

High school students seeking additional physics resources, educators looking for textbook recommendations, and anyone interested in foundational physics concepts.

Phantomfrk
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I am still in high school taking a Physics class and honestly the book the school gave us just shows you example problems. So I was wondering if you guys knew of any good Beginning Physics books that would be good and have a lot more explanation.

All we have done so far is learned about vectors, momentum, impulse, and a few formulas about distance, velocity, and acceleration.

Our teacher doesn't really teach us so i am looking for a book with A LOT of EXPLANATION so that even I can understand this stuff

Thank you
 
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I am in the same situation. I plan to order https://www.amazon.com/dp/0070257345/?tag=pfamazon01-20
for problem solving and see what i can do. I just use my school's physics book for the basic explanation; however, I am planning to buy another book about basic physics to fill in the gaps that my other physics book left behind.

Any recommendations?

Looks like we are the only high school students on this site.. lol
 
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Basic Physics: A Self-Teaching Guide by Karl F. Kuhn is pretty good for algebra based physics, which is probably what you're taking in high school.
 
Look for
"Physics for Scientists and engineerings" 6th edition.. there are two volumes to this
those books are really good.. the cover is blue
 
I'm trying to figure out what will supplement my knowledge. So far, I'm looking at these books(in order of preference) :
1.https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471762504/?tag=pfamazon01-20
2.https://www.amazon.com/dp/0935218084/?tag=pfamazon01-20
3.https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471134473/?tag=pfamazon01-20

I might order the first and second book, but I'm not sure. The self-teaching guide(3) just asserts the formula and makes you memorize it without figuring out how they derived it. I can't see why people like the self-teaching guide so much.. i read the first few pages..

I'm looking for a detailed and a comprehensive intro to physics to supplement my Holt Physics textbook by Serway and Faughin

How about those Schaums?

Is it a good choice to buy 1 and 2?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

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